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VERDICT

Strategy & Tactics: World War II strips back its depth of gameplay in an effort to make things easier to approach, however this simplicity has brought a new set of problems to the table.

Full Review

App Store Info

Gamers who typically enjoy strategy titles invariably also enjoy the challenge that comes from seeing a mountain-sized burden of knowledge and conquering it to become masters of their virtual domain. Strategy & Tactics: World War II was once tied to the Hearts of Iron franchise - a series some strategy fans should recognize - and while the mobile title reduces the complexity significantly, it's no less opaque in its mechanics.

In other words, be prepared to fail, and fail often as you learn to master the fine art of managing multiple unit groups to flank, corral, and hopefully crush the armies of your enemy.

When I say 'less complex', what I mean to say is that much of the micromanagement inherent to a strategy game is taken out of your hands - you can buy and deploy units with the resources at your disposal, then send them around the theater of war you're currently in to either claim territory (and thus claim more resources), or to fight enemy units.

There is a catch though - unless you have overwhelming numbers the enemy will simply retreat through its captured borders, evading the bulk of your damage. This can be maddening as a tiny squad can easily slip through your fingers and be pushed in to a corner where both you and your opponent will farcically dance back and forth.

Maneuvers are made all the more difficult thanks to the limited mobility of units, making flanks extremely challenging to apply against an enemy, even if they're completely out of position.

However, with research points giving you access to significant unit upgrades and each level being relatively tiny in size, Strategy & Tactics comes off as a sort of strategic 'snack' for hardcore genre fans after a historically themed title. Thankfully the first taste is free, so pick it up and see if it's to your tastes.

Description

"New pretender to the World War 2 throne makes good." - gamezebo.com

"The amount of Campaigns, Strong AI, and variety of modes makes this an easy recommend." - appstorearcade.com

Relive the greatest battles of WWII in this grand strategy masterpiece. Take command of the Axis to conquer Europe - then command the armies of the USSR and Allies to retake it.

In Strategy & Tactics: World War II, you battle impressive AI enemies in three campaigns with a classic turn-based battle system and serried ranks of historically-accurate troops. Fight your way through eighteen missions with an exсiting storyline and charismatic characters across Europe, Asia and Africa, research new technologies to improve your troops and build industry, and lead your armies to victory.

If you manage to finish all that,there are also skirmish games, several classic scenarios, plus hot seat and WiFi multiplayer modes to play, including between various different smartphones and tablets. All this displayed, in a highly-detailed, powerful but simple to understand interface.

The following content is available in free version:
- 3 Missions of Axis Campaign - "The Birth of Tragedy";
- One Skirmish mode map with fixed game settings;
- "The Decline of the West", "The Reds in the UK" game scenarios;
- One Hot-seat multiplayer mode map;
- One cross-platform multiplayer mode via Wi-Fi map;